The No. 10 Virginia women's soccer team is hoping for a different type of "learning lesson" than the one experienced last week, as they prepare to host the Virginia Soccer Classic this weekend.
Following a loss and tie to UCLA and Southern California, respectively, the Cavaliers will attempt to rebound against The Big Green of Dartmouth and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Although NSCAA preseason No. 21 Dartmouth presents a formidable challenge, Virginia remains optimistic that they will be able to produce the kind of results needed to showcase their well-known abilities.
Virginia will start off the tournament tonight against West Virginia, followed on Sunday by a highly publicized match against Dartmouth. Dartmouth improved to 1-1 after notching a key victory against New Hampshire, and is looking for yet another big win against the Cavaliers.
"We want to go out, play hard and win," Virginia Coach Suzanne Eastman said of Dartmouth. "We're not going to put too much weight in ranked opponents."
Eastman, who played for Dartmouth's women soccer program until 1999, is familiar with the style and type of Big Green players. Dartmouth, last year's Ivy League champion, is coming off one of their most successful seasons in school history. Although the team lost their pre-season ranking because of a season-opening loss to Iowa, the challenge remains. The Big Green squad is stacked with eight returning starters.
In the second game, the Cavaliers will face West Virginia (3-1), who is coming off a 4-1 victory against George Mason.
With last weekend's two disappointing games still fresh on their minds, the Cavaliers would like to achieve the kind of first-half lead they held against UCLA. Despite losing the match 4-3 in overtime, the team still gained much-needed experience in their excursion to the West Coast.
"Obviously the weekend didn't turn out how we wanted it," Virginia Coach Steve Swanson said. "We thought we had control of the game against UCLA and it slipped out of our hands, but it was very beneficial for the youth on our team."
One of the determining factors this weekend will be the team's ability to maintain a steady level of intensity. Virginia has been nothing less than stellar in the first half of play so far this season (eight of 10 goals have been in the first half), and it will be a true test if such dominance can be continued into the drudgery of second-half play.
The renewed force of the Cavaliers will center around the talent of such players as junior goalkeeper Anne Abernathy and senior forward Alysa Benitez, the team's leading scorer.
"We have a lot of competitors on our team and we're still coming together, but our team is made up of winners," Swanson said.
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